Shukria Barakzai has endured a miscarriage from Taliban attacks, a secretly polygamous husband, street beatings by extremists, an aggressive opposition campaign from that same husband and multiple assassination attempts. Just one of these would stop most normal people in their tracks.

The end of one of the most bizarre periods of Ramadan the Uyghur people have ever known is drawing to a close. The Turkic Muslim people living in the area of western China now called Xinjiang were forced by Beijing to forego the month's obligatory fasting, the latest intrusion by authorities into the Uyghur way of life. But at the same time, the plight of the Uyghurs has arguably been receiving the most international attention, well, ever.

A series of violent attacks against women in Turkey has put the entire country on edge - with little hope for change. Could one woman's act of defiance begin to challenge an established culture of patriarchy?

The government has missed the opportunity to help women realise that marital rape is wrong, according to the Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO).

WAO executive director Sumitra Visvanathan said the organisation had witnessed several instances where women were unaware that they should not be coerced into having sex, whether they were in a marital relationship or otherwise.

The much-anticipated sequel to the infamous ‘Protection of the Family’ initiative at the Human Rights Council has finally arrived. Introduced at this June session, amidst rich debate and discussion on women’s rights, gender equality, challenging entrenched stereotypes and norms, one wonders how far detached from reality the sponsors of this initiative are.